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Psyma assists public transport authorities with social media communication

16/01/2014 | en

Together with eight public transport authorities in Germany, Psyma analysed the needs and expectations of public transport users, concerning the public transport authorities' use of social media communications. The central element of this multi-client study was a four-week market research online community with public transport users who have a strong affinity to social media.

Susanne Schubert, Sandra Tauber (Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund, RMV) and Rainer Schätzlein (Psyma) in "Der Nahverkehr", issue 10/2013, describe the recent developments in social media communication at RMV, and point out how the outcome of this market research can advance social media communication.

Innovative communication of public transport authorities through customized social media activities: RMV's progress towards their own Facebook Fan Page

The Rhein-Main Transport Authority (Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund, RMV) in Germany developed a social media presence on Twitter and Facebook with the goal to promote innovative communication through customer-oriented social media activities. At an appropriate time, the market research firm Psyma offered the opportunity, through a multi-client study, to clarify the needs and expectations of passengers in a two-step online study.

Thus, social media presence is an option, not a must have for transport authorities. It is recommended for a Facebook presence to have a mixture of communication methods with public transport related ­information, entertaining offers, and hands-on activities. This way the need for special information and the fun factor is considered. It is also important to determine the relationship between the social media presence and the website.